Life in the NFL
Lelie: Broncos
lacked killer instinctI'M upset that we didn't beat Indianapolis. We had them beat, but couldn't put a dagger in their hearts. We just couldn't close them out. The biggest lead we had all game was seven points, but there were many other times we should have scored.
We should have won that game. We were up by three with a minute and 30 seconds to go. Good teams play better in crunch time and I thought we were the better team.
The coaches didn't say one word after the loss, but Rod Smith got up and said we need to pick up our game if we want to control our destiny and win the division.
I made a catch on third down for a first down. It was my only official catch. I actually had two other catches, but they were taken away because of penalties. One was a slant and I got called for pass interference. The other was a slant and they were called for being offside. The very next play I made the first down on a fake slant-and-go fade pattern.
We've definitely got to pick up our game this week. We're on the road against San Diego and we need to get a big win. We'll be pumped up to win because we were so close to a win over Indianapolis and didn't get it. Coming down to the stretch run of the season, we've got to make a statement and get home-field advantage. We can't hope other people lose.
I've played against a lot of cornerbacks, but if I had to pick the best I've gone against, I'd have to say Ty Law of New England. He has really good technique and good feet. I kind of had a little more trouble than usual getting open against him, but he didn't break up any balls on me and I really didn't get enough playing time when we played the Patriots to fully judge my ability to get open against him.
I heard about the fight after the Hawaii football team's win, but I don't really know what happened.
I haven't been doing as many autograph-signing sessions as I did earlier in the season. But in the near future, I'll be going with Deltha O'Neal and signing autographs for people who donate Christmas toys to a charity for needy children.
Deltha had a great game against the Colts. He made a lot of plays, had a long punt return and made a big pick to stop a drive in the fourth quarter. He's a cool guy. He came to my house yesterday to hang out, and we have the same agent.
It's a funny thing, but there's no real unsung hero on our team. Everybody who is making plays, you know about it. Everybody knows the offensive line is doing well. Everybody knows Clinton Portis is probably going to be rookie of the year and he's probably going to the Pro Bowl. Everybody knows about Deltha and the things he does, what our linebacker crew of Ian Gold, John Mobley and Al Wilson does and that Rod Smith and Ed McCaffrey are making big plays at the ends of big games.
There's a lot of talk about Jason Elam missing that extra point to break his long streak, but I don't know how he feels about it because I tend to leave people alone in those kinds of circumstances.
I haven't heard too much about how Nate Jackson is doing, but I heard there's a fund to raise money for his hospital expenses. I'd like to ask all the people of Hawaii to help out with whatever they can. Even a dollar will help out Nate and his family.